{"id":678,"date":"2009-02-16T03:01:29","date_gmt":"2009-02-16T03:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/02\/closed-on-sunday.html"},"modified":"2009-02-16T03:01:29","modified_gmt":"2009-02-16T03:01:29","slug":"closed-on-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/02\/closed-on-sunday.html","title":{"rendered":"Closed on Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I was driving along in San Antonio recently, I glimpsed a sign that grabbed my attention. Since I wasn’t quite sure I saw it right, I did a big loop to confirm my I had seen (not an easy task with San Antonio frontage roads, by the way). Sure enough, at the Las Palapas restaurant along 1604 in north San Antonio, there were two unusual signs.
\nOne of the signs read: “More Valuable: A Good Reputation than Riches.” This is a paraphrase of Proverbs 22:1, which reads in the NLT: “Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold.”
\nThe other sign read: “Open 24 Hours. Closed Sunday: Family and Worship.” Now you don’t see that sort of thing every day, even in Texas. When I lived in Irvine, I remember one business that closed on Sunday – a bread shop owned by Mormons.
\nAfter I got home from San Antonio, I did a little research on Las Palapas.
\nFirst, a “palapa” is an open-sided, thatched-roof structure<\/a> that you’d find on a tropical island. It’s sometimes called a tiki hut.\u00a0 The word seems to come<\/a> from a “American Spanish” word for palm tree.
\nLas Palapas is a Tex-Mex restaurant chain<\/a> in San Antonio, with eleven locations. It was founded in 1981 by Ron Acosta. Here’s how the Las Palapas website explains its Sunday closing policy:<\/p>\n

Las Palapas began closing on Sunday to allow employees time with families and an opportunity to worship if they so desire.\u00a0 According to Ron, honoring God is not just about closing on Sundays it is about identifying people everyday with needs and then doing what you can to help them.\u00a0 Ron attributes his success to the grace of God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I noticed that Las Palapas promotes a charitable foundation called Jireh, with the tag line: “Serving Widows and Orphans.” Here’s the website data on Jireh:<\/p>\n

Many people have helped Ron during the seasons of his life and because of this he has a desire to give back to others. Therefore, Ron and his wife Elssy founded the Jireh Foundation, to assist in caring for widows and orphans. Throughout the city of San Antonio, there are widows and orphans that the Jireh Foundation helps support financially on a monthly basis. Jireh also assists many other non-profit organizations and businesses in the San Antonio community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The word “Jireh” comes from the Hebrew verb that means “to see,” or sometimes “to provide.” It is used as a name for God in Genesis 22:14. The KJV reads: “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” A few verses earlier, jireh<\/em> [now transliterated as yireh<\/em>] is rendered in the KJV as “to provide” – “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide [yireh<\/em>] himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” (Gen 22:8). Both verses come from the story in which Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac. But God provided a ram for the sacrifice.
\nI’ve never eaten at Las Palapas. But I’m going to do so soon. I like good Tex-Mex cuisine. But, even more, I love seeing a Christian entrepreneur who lives out his faith in the context of business. If there’s any way I can support him, I’m eager to do it, especially if it means buying some Tex-Mex food.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I was driving along in San Antonio recently, I glimpsed a sign that grabbed my attention. Since I wasn’t quite sure I saw it right, I did a big loop to confirm my I had seen (not an easy task with San Antonio frontage roads, by the way). Sure enough, at the Las Palapas…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-only-in-texas"],"yoast_head":"\nClosed on Sunday - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/02\/closed-on-sunday.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Closed on Sunday - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As I was driving along in San Antonio recently, I glimpsed a sign that grabbed my attention. Since I wasn’t quite sure I saw it right, I did a big loop to confirm my I had seen (not an easy task with San Antonio frontage roads, by the way). Sure enough, at the Las Palapas…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/02\/closed-on-sunday.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}